Brave officers talk about confronting gun man

12 October 2021

Two officers have told how they rescued three terrified children from a gunman who had smashed up a house in Suffolk.

PCs Pete French and Jordan Tuck appeared on BBC Radio Suffolk to talk about the moment they were confronted by a man wielding a shotgun, their handling of the situation and their nomination for today’s Police Bravery Awards 2020.

Jordan said: “Something like this is always at the back of your mind. I’d only been in the police nine months at that point. You quickly learn that things aren’t always as they seem.

“Thank goodness that firearms incidents for unarmed officers to deal with are so rare. That was something that was extraordinary that I hope me and Pete never have to deal with again.”

Pete added: “It was a frightening experience. It wasn’t something that we deal with on a day-to-day basis, thankfully, but it’s something as police officers we realise there is potential for.

“Jordan says he was only nine months in but he did a fantastic job and I was very grateful to have someone like him with me at the time.”

The unarmed officers were called to a house in Great Cornard, near Sudbury, in September 2019, arriving to scenes of devastation, with broken glass and debris strewn across the property.

Jordan said: “We immediately knew between us that there was something quite horrible going on.”

Pete added: “The house looked like a hurricane had been through it. We got there within about three minutes of the call. We didn’t have a massive amount of time to do all the checks.

“Our control room tried doing some checks on the address for us and gave us a bit of background information but we were going in blind, essentially. We weren’t aware of what we were walking into.”

A terrified 12-year-old girl was found cowering in the kitchen. And when the officers went outside the house they were confronted by a men brandishing a shotgun, which he aimed at them.

Speaking on BBC Radio Suffolk’s Wayne Bavin Show, Pete said: “I shouted at him to put it down but he was extremely hostile and not listening to anything we said.

“We got ourselves into the house, locked the door and I said to Jordan to get everybody out.

“He checked round upstairs and made sure everybody was out of the address while I tried to keep a line of sight on the man.”

Jordan took three children and an adult to safety, with one of the children so terrified they were hiding in a cupboard.

He said: “When I saw he had a shotgun, I think the first thing that happened was we were both flooded with adrenalin. The worst part was when we were in the house, he was trying to smash the patio door with the butt of the shotgun.

“I remember standing there watching him do it, thinking that if he gets through there’s not a huge amount that me and Pete are going to do.”

Pete said the most frightening moment for him was when he lost sight of the man.

“I know now that he was going behind the shed to get a can of petrol which he put onto the shed,” he said.

“But I lost sight of him and that was probably the most scary moment because I’m thinking to myself what do I do now? Has he got into a neighbouring property? Has he gone over the hedge? What’s he done?

“Do I go after him because, for all I knew, he could be taking somebody hostage or going into another address and causing chaos there?

“It was 30 seconds of real fear before Jordan saw him coming from behind the shed. I was just filled with relief then when we could see what he was up to.”

The man set fire to the shed and then crouched behind a bush with the gun pointed towards the house.

Jordan said: “I believe he was waiting for anyone to come out of the patio doors or come in through the garden gate.”

While they were awaiting support from armed police, the officers noticed the man had lowered his gun and seized their opportunity.

Jordan said: “Pete saw him move out of that position and then he laid the shotgun in front of him, kneeled on the floor and put his arms in the air.

“We unlocked the patio door, ran over and got him and the shotgun under control as quickly as we could.”

The officers have been nominated in the Police Federation's Police Bravery Awards 2020. The Covid-delayed awards evening will take place in London today (12 October). 

Pete said: “I was very privileged and honoured to be nominated. It’s not something that I gave a great deal of thought to at the time.”

Click here to listen to their interviews now. They start at one hour, 19 minutes and 35 seconds.